Honda just recently tweak the styling of its domestic market luxury Inspire, or the more popular global Accord. The tweak is almost discernible especially in dark colors as Honda just change the bumper and grill design and add a little touch of chrome garnish at the rear.
Subtle design change gives more sculpted looks to the Inspire/Accord
The new bumper now features the same pronounced “V” lines from the recent Fit refresh, and apparently hinting that Honda is uniting its design creed. The grill portion of the car received a little bit of a sculpt and nudging the front part of the car just a wee bit. The grill lost one winglet but the two is a little bit bigger while retaining the same hexagonal shape of the original with a little more flair. The bumper design change is actually minimal, but the refreshed bumper is more pronounced and looks like an aggressive evolution of the original if you care to take a comparison note.
The original grill and bumper looked a bit soft compared to the refresh
Same design but more sculpted
The rear doesn’t have that aggressive sculpt change like the front bumper, Honda just added a chrome accent to the extra taillight… Extra? Yep, it’s an extra taillight and not just a garnish like USDM Accord. I don’t know much about JDM Inspire, but here in South East Asia, the faux taillight is actually a placeholder for a light bulb as you can actually make it usable. I’m thinking about rear fog lights, but somehow Honda take it out for some odd reason.
Faux taillights that actually can be made usable with ease
Way back when current generation Accord was launched, I loathed at the design with its blandness and utilitarianism. Although the design grew on me, I still think Honda could design a more upscale looking car for its Inspire/Accord name. Competitors like Nissan Teana and Toyota Camry have daring designs that screams upscale… But the Inspire is just too bland, too safe. I assume Honda management doesn’t want to take risks considering its target market, and Inspire/Accord target market might be bothered with radical design changes. However, I would like to see Honda management giving its product designer a little bit more freedom in the design department. Not Nissan and Mazda quirky, but a slightly edgier Toyota should fit Honda image.
Perhaps the new Civic which is due next year would have some more surprises, but the spy pictures tell the same tale , that Honda is playing safe again. We’ll see… I love Honda for its engineering, but a little bit of Tabasco or chili sauce with that Wagyu steak should be okay.
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